A point of view

Right. This is going to be about The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, which, thanks to a good friend of mine, I have had the honor of reading.

Although I am probably one of the last person on Earth to have read it, I will still try to give away as little spoilers as possible.

It is beautifully written, yes. But it is quite difficult to read, considering the reader is well aware of the fact that death lingers in every page. And it has been a while since I’ve read a tragic book (the last one would be Looking for Alaska, by the same author). It is not a happy book, although snippets of happiness are certainly present within. And sure enough, one does die. In the person of Augustus Waters.

Although he’s an awesome character, I must confess that I do not like Augustus Waters as much as most of the book’s readers do—perhaps due to the fact that his personality reminds me of myself, especially his attitude towards death (and life) and his fear of oblivion.

These similarities make me feel uncomfortable for some reason. I admit it sounds pretentious, claiming that. But it’s true. So, to avoid sounding more ostentatious than I intended, I will not elaborate on these similarities.

Also, though I accept that his passing away was a necessary turn in the story, I resent the fact that a character who forms, in some ways, an uncanny reflection of myself dies.

I did not like him that much, yes. But I was saddened by his dying, and I mourned his death (albeit a fictional death, yes). So here’s to Gus, cheers.

(I did simply adore Peter van Houten, author of the fictional An Imperial Affliction, and hero of main character/narrator Hazel Graze Lancaster. He reminded me of Haymitch, from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. And I loved Haymitch. These characters, who share an affinity towards the bottle, fascinate me. They are good people, deep down, but are terribly broken by whatever they’ve experienced. They lash out at people, trying to hurt others as the world has hurt them, but at odd moments, whatever goodness is in them inevitably manages to creep out of their hardened guises and shine like the sun, and you know that these guys aren’t really that bad at all. And I love characters who are like that.)